Last night we went to NoVa to see Mates of State. They were playing at the State Theatre in Falls Church, which turned out to be an awesome venue. It reminded me a lot of the Georgia Theatre in Athena, GA where I’ve seen many a band. The venue is awesome… pretty big while still maintaining intimacy and great sound.
We got there way earlier than we needed to and ended up picking a spot pretty much front and center. It’s been a very, very long time since I’d been up front at a show, and I’d forgotten how it’s a completely different experience. We were surrounded by people that were really excited about the show, and it was very contagious.
The first opener, Hail Social, was pretty good for a first opener. The second opener was Maria Taylor, better known as half of Azure Ray, who I love. From the beginning of the show to when she started, we drifted back to about three people from the stage. In front of us was a few high school girls and one of their moms. Anyway, during Mario Taylor, this girl appeared behind us, very into the music. She asked to get in front of us just for this set, and she’d leave for Mates of State. We let her through, and she was right ahead of us. She said she loved Maria Taylor, and it was kind of cute… she knew all the words and was screaming her head off between songs. Then it went creepy… a song later, she goes through her purse, and counts out some cash. Then she taps one of the high school girls in the front on the shoulder, and offers to pay to swap spots. The girl quickly agrees, comes back next to us and looks at the $20 in her hand smiling. Then she flips it open, and there’s another $20. She flips past that and there’s another and another and another. Psycho fan girl paid $100 so she could move three feet closer to the stage. After another song I watched her reach into her purse and grab more cash to try to swap with a guy leaning against the stage front and center. He let her have the spot for free. And, true to her word, as soon as Maria Taylor finished her set, she went to the back.
Then the awesomeness began. I’ve enjoyed all the MoS shows I’ve been to, but they’ve all been in very very small venues. Well despite there being only two of them, they fill up a stage really well. The biggest plus for me was the crowd. I think on the timeline of a rise and fall of a band’s popularity, MoS is now in what I consider the sweet spot. They’re big enough to where they pack a few hundred people into a decent size venue, but small enough where people aren’t just showing up because they’ve heard of them. Everybody around us knew all the songs, and they were jumping around having a good time. When they came out for the encore, they asked us if we wanted to hear Bowie or Nico. Obviously, the correct answer is Nico, but the crowd didn’t know that, so they started with their cover of Bowie’s Starman. Then they played Nico’s These Days anyway, so it all worked out.
The show and the crowd are both the best in recent memory. It made me wonder how different it would’ve been from the back. It’s entirely possible that this show had the same energy as all the other shows I’ve been to recently, but in the back, I’m just an observer, while up front I’m a participant. In any case, I think I’ll be making a greater effort to make it out early and claim a spot near the stage. I can always brina along the DS to pass the time.
